Archives: September 2006
In Which I Write An Open Letter To Malmö
September 30, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Åhus Route: Malmö - Falsterbo - Ystad - Simrishamn - Kivik - Åhus Dear Malmö What a miserable place you are. Drab and plain with a chip on yr shoulder about how lovely and big and important Copenhagen is, just across the bridge. (You're right - it is.) But was...
In Which I Photograph A Library
September 29, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Malmö Route: Varberg - Halmstad - Helsingborg - Malmö I rode as far as Varberg last night in order to be set for an important day today: I had a library to photograph. And as luck would have it, Varberg is a lovely little town. I wasn't quite ready for...
Video 5(a): At last - Mike's on his way
September 28, 2006 by Mike in Video
I spend all this time and money on video equipment; my bruvver Nick films this on his digital camera, and it's the best film of the trip so far. Doh! Cheers Nick!...
In Which Norway Finally Gets Rid Of Me
September 28, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Varberg, Sweden! Route: Høvik - Oslo - Moss - Sarpsborg - Strömstad - Gothenburg - Varberg As I drove past Gothenburg this afternoon, down a motorway in the rain, it seemed like half the population of Sweden had taken to the road to welcome me to their country. Charming, if...
In Which I Meet A Future Prime Minister (Of Norway)
September 27, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Høvik Rise up! Rise up, people of Norway!! Your taxes aren't going on healthcare and social security. (They certainly aren't going on road repairs in Finnmark.) Instead they are being diverted to subsidise the staff canteen at the Stortinget -- Norway's Parliament. And how do I know this? Because I...
Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me
September 26, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Sorry to be such a self-publicist, but.. well.. here goes.. Before leaving Norwich, about 100 years ago, I was sitting in my parents' living room, reading the local paper. The front page lead: Woman Gives Birth To Baby A local woman had a baby two months ago, having been told...
Video 5: Norway 2
September 26, 2006 by Mike in Video
Video 5: Norway 2 -- sounds like a football score, but it's actually the latest instalment in what I hoped would be a regular video diary. Well it's regular - once every three weeks or so. But if the rain and cold of autumn is threatening to ruin the biking,...
In Which I Learn To Love Reality TV
September 26, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Høvik I hate "reality TV". It's all so utterly UNreal. Can't stand the preening need to be on TV at all costs. Famous for being famous. Or rather infamous for a few minutes for being louder, ruder, more ridiculous and raucous than the next wannabe. So desperate for validation-by-television that,...
In Which I Remember To Update This Site
September 25, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Høvik Hello stranger -- Sorry I've been so bad at keeping in touch recently. You know how it is -- life getting in the way. (What's your excuse for not writing? Hmmm?) I'm also tempted to say, 'there hasn't been much to write about', and it's true as far as...
Video 4(a): "409" (a musical interlude)
September 18, 2006 by Mike in Video
So there I was, riding round the bottom of Norway and north towards Oslo, when I realised the next turning to the right would lead me to State Highway 409. An opportunity no good Beach Boys fan could resist:...
In Which I Finally Get Round To Sending My Postcards
September 17, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Just outside Oslo Hiya.. Trip's going brilliantly. Discovering Norway + Norwegians a real buzz for me. Got to Nick's place in Høvik a few days ago. Gt to see them. And Oslo: sunny, Viking Ships Museum, Kon-Tiki, Fram, a session in The Dubliner (thought of you!)walk in Nordmarka yest etc...
In Which I Cry Out: 'Rosebud!'
September 11, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Kragerø Route: Risør - Stabbestad - Kragerø Well, it had to happen eventually. My worst nightmare... other than Ipswich winning the FA Cup and, y'know, georgebushalqaedaglobalwarmingbeigegenocidehiv. Or someone announcing they've just completed a book/ DVD of their bike trip round the coast of Europe. Writer's block. Although, following the literary...
In Which Nostalgia Grabs Me By The Throat
September 10, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Risør Route: Kristiansand - Lillesand - Grimstad - Arendal - Risør The Family With used to arrive in Kristiansand at the start of the summer holidays, 'fresh' off the boat from Harwich. Remember the 70s? Fred. Olsen's North Sea ferries were grey, passengers' faces were invariably green, and Kristiansand was...
In Which Maggie's Boys Take A Hell Of A Beating
September 9, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Kristiansund Route: Stavanger - Nordsjøvegen (The North Sea Road) - Egersund - Flekkejord - Lindesnes - Kristiansand Rather than bore you with my limited vocabulary of biking cliches -- you know them by now, windy roads, lefty-righty roads, uppy-downy roads, hugging the coastline -- as today's ride got better incrementally...
In Which I Miss My Bike
September 8, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Stavanger I haven't been Mike Travelling Round Europe On A Motorbike for the last few days. Just Mike, pottering around a fine city and a lovely flat, relaxing, doing the laundry, cooking with a real oven, walking, reading newspapers, spending time with my cousin, going to a festival of underground...
In Which I Evoke Marilyn Monroe, Robert Mitchum And, Err, Jim Carrey
September 5, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Stavanger Route: Haugesund - Karmøy - Stavanger I only rode 30 miles today. That and an 85-minute ferry ride is all that separates these two cities. That, and the island of Karmøy, which has ever such a little chip on its shoulder about being squeezed out of the picture of...
In Which I Give Bergen A Miss
September 4, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Haugesund Route: Sogndal - Balestrand - Oppedal - Leirvag - Bergen - Os - Leivik - Haugesund It rained on me on 16 different occasions today. Sometimes quite lightly; a couple of times while the sun was shining; three times it was coming down in sheets. I. Got. Quite. Wet....
In Which I Cannot Believe My Ears
September 3, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Sogndal Route: Skeid - under Jostedalsbreen - Sogndal To Astrupturen, Nikolai Astrup's home, now a museum and gallery - Nikolai, you'll remember, being my great-grandfather's cousin and, by the way, one of Norway's most celebrated painters. This is the home he built for his wife and eight children (they didn't...
Video 4: Norway 1
September 3, 2006 by Mike in Video
Not sure this is going to be as interesting or as well edited as the previous ones.. I know, I know, that's not saying much.. but it's here for continuity... Hope you like it. --Mike...
In Which I Take a Happy Wrong Turn
September 2, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Skeid - although it's also spelled Skei Route: Ålesund - Volda - Nordfjordeid - Skei I'm sitting this evening in the rain in a smelly, tatty cabin about 12 feet from the E39, the main road between Bergen and Trondheim. These are the second and third largest cities in Norway....
In Which I Tick All My Boxes
September 1, 2006 by Mike in Diary
Ålesund Now this was a day... Let me break it down into its constituent parts but, as you read, remember this all came in one rather wonderful day: 1. Atlanterhavsvegen (That's the Atlantic Ocean Road, in case you haven't picked up any Norwegian here.) Averøy, where I slept last night,...